Arantxa Sanchis

Early life Arantxa Lael Sanchis was born on 27 April 1990 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She was named after the Spanish professional tennis player Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. Arantxa is the daughter of a retired Indian Army officer, Colonel EJ Sanchis, an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla; who trained at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun and served for around three decades in the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. He was the Commander in-charge of the Rescue Operation of the Orissa flood in the year 1999. He has given her support in her sporting career and is currently her coach, manager and mentor for the game. Her mother is an alumnus of St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. She has an elder sister.

Career beginnings She started playing snooker in 2005 at the age of 15. It was at the Officer's Mess at the College of Military Engineering in Pune, where her father was serving in the Indian Army, that she picked up the . She the first ball she aimed at. She was then studying in the X Std at the Army Public School, Pune. She would look for every opportunity to play and coaxed her father to take her. She started participating in the Annual tournament in Billiards and Snooker for the Army officers at CME and won both the Billiards and Snooker Championships in the year 2006. She then took part in a Pune Open Snooker tournament at PYC Hindu Gymkhana in which she won the opening frame of her very first competitive match by potting the last black against her older and more experienced male player. Arantxa plays both snooker and billiards at the International level.

Coaching She had her basic coaching under the late Shri Satish Amarnath; a renowned national and international billiards and snooker player. Her compact stance, smooth cue delivery and sharp potting skills were developed under him. She had a short stint with Thai snooker player Phisit Chandsri, a 3-time IBSF World Snooker Masters Champion. He improved her break building ability and game strategy. At present, she is coached and mentored by her father. IBSF World Snooker Championship: Sofia, Bulgaria (Nov 2012) Daugavpils, Latvia (Nov 2013) Bangalore, India (Dec 2014) Doha, Qatar (Nov 2016)

She represented Deccan Gymkhana, New Poona Club and Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) for various tournaments in Pune. She has also represented MCF Club and Catholic Gymkhana at the Mumbai Billiards & Snooker Leagues.

Sanchis' achievements at All India open tournaments include:

CCI Open Snooker 2019 – Top 32 (Amongst men) Matunga Gymkhana 6 Red Open Snooker 2018 – Top 16 (Amongst men) ECC 6 Red Open Snooker 2018 – Top 32 (Amongst men) Matunga Gymkhana 6 Red Open Snooker 2016 – Quarterfinalist (Amongst men) Snooker Premier League 2016 - Runner-up (Team - Royal Strikers)

Academic achievements Sanchis achieved a Distinction during her Engineering from St. Francis Institute of Technology, Mumbai. She was declared the Best Student of the institute.

She also topped her MBA in Finance from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Pune. Here, too, she was declared the Best Student of the institute.

In the year 2013, she was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal of Symbiosis International University for all-round excellence in MBA among 5,000 students across 10 institutes in India. She won as many as 10 awards during her two years of the MBA Course. She was awarded the Sports scholarship for two years in a row by the university.

Awards and recognition Sports:

Shiv Chhatrapati Award for the year 2013–2014 by Maharashtra Government Best Sportsperson Award for the year 2012–2013 by Symbiosis International University Awarded the Phoenix Leading Lady Award 2020 for Personal Excellence (Sports) Most promising player at the Turf Club Open 2008 Featured in the 100 Women Special by BBC. She was felicitated at the RWITC Pune Derby 2015 for her performance in Billiards and Snooker.